Tours of Buckingham Palace
Balcony room can be viewed for the first time
On June 15, the Royal Family gathered around King Charles III and Queen Camilla for “Trooping the Colour” on the castle balcony.
© IMAGO/Landmark Media/Anfisa Polyushkevych
Buckingham Palace has a new highlight on offer for royal fans: on a guided tour you can marvel at the Balcony Room.
Fans of the British royal family will soon be able to experience to some extent how King Charles III (75) and his family probably feel this way when they look out over the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. For the first time this summer, the middle room behind the famous balcony will be open to the public – and visitors will be able to look out of the window onto the boulevard “The Mall”.
Tickets for the East Wing tour sold out quickly
The traditional summer opening of the palace will take place on July 11th. Guided tours of the large residence in London have been available for more than 30 years. New this year is the tour of the east wing – including the balcony room. However, visitors are not allowed on the balcony itself. Almost 6,000 tickets were made available in April and they were sold out within a few hours.
The royal family members gather in the room on major occasions before the doors open and they step out onto the balcony in front of the crowds. This was most recently the case on June 15th for the King’s birthday parade, “Trooping the Colour”. Princess Kate (42) attracted a lot of attention because she appeared at a public event for the first time since it was announced that she had cancer.
The doors remain closed to visitors, but they can enjoy views of the Mall through net curtains and look around the room. Highlights include a newly restored glass chandelier that resembles a lotus flower and two 18th-century silk wall hangings given to Queen Victoria (1819-1901) by the Emperor of China on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Led by expert guides, groups of around 20 visitors are led through the main corridor and rooms.
It is said that it was King Charles’s idea to open up the east wing. It was built between 1847 and 1849 to accommodate Queen Victoria’s growing family. Renovation work has been carried out there over the past five years. More than 3,500 works of art had to be removed and stored safely. Around 47,000 floorboards were removed and re-laid.
Palace open until 29 September
While tickets for the new tour of the east wing are already sold out, visitors can use a standard ticket to view the 19 rooms used by the royal family for official appointments. The ballroom also features the new portrait of the king by artist Jonathan Yeo (53) with its striking red background. The summer opening will take place from July 11 to September 29. For the first time, the palace will be open seven days a week in July and August and five days a week in September. Tickets are available for around 89 euros.